The Perfect Birthday
by DJ Lee
Summary: Shinji thought that his 16th birthday would be another lonely birthday like those he had in the past. However, he's in for a surprise since a lonely birthday was not what he received.


Disclaimer: Neon Genesis Evangelion belongs to Gainax.

This was previously on but I removed it since I thought a revision might help. Thanks to Bucky for your review! Your fics aren't bad either.

This is in no way related to Seldon Planner's Birthday of a Pilot. His work was so interesting that it inspired me to write my own version of Shinji's birthday as well. If you find any similarities, all I have to say is that it was just a coincidence, and not intentional. However, I encourage you to check out his work. I know that there are other birthdays stories as well, but I forgot most of them, so if there are any coincidences with their work… sorry. Um, onto the story...

**_The Perfect Birthday_**

Shinji sat on his bed, reflecting over his life. "Life is unfair," he mumbled to himself.

He leaned back to lay on his bed, staring up at the ceiling afterwards. "My birthday; I bet that no one would even remember, let alone care about it. Another lonely birthday, again," he whispered to himself.

"Not even Father," he mumbled. _I just want to die_, he thought briefly afterwards.

After lying on the bed for five minutes, he picked himself up and entered the kitchen. He quickly fixed up breakfast and ate in alone in silence. Both his roommates were fast asleep, for it was still pretty early in the morning.

After finishing his meal, he went into the kitchen and searched for a knife, only to find all the knives hidden somewhere, due to Misato's turn to cook in the kitchen yesterday. And trust me, he only ate a few bites to avoid dying of food poisoning. She had somehow misplaced every kitchen utensil, making it impossible to find anything. Shinji growled in frustration until he came upon a plastic knife.

_Maybe it'll work_, he thought to himself _First, I need a shower._

He headed towards the bathroom and removed his clothes before entering the bathtub. _Wait, I could just drown myself. It'll work just as well. That way I won't need the knife to cut myself with_, he thought logically.

Smirking to himself, he lay in the tub and turned on the water, waiting the moment when it filled the tub to the top so that he may drown. Just as the water reached half way, the pipe stopped releasing the water. _What the…?_ he thought to himself as he examined the pipe. He twisted the knob to turn off the water, and then back on. As he did this, no water came pouring out.

"Great, some plumber just HAS to fix the pipes this early in the morning."

Shinji grunted to himself and finished what was supposed to be his bath.

Feeling a little refreshed after his bath, he exited the apartment. _Forget school_, he thought as he approached the rooftop of the building.

Taking out the _knife_ he found, he held it up to his wrist and began to saw through the skin. He frowned to himself, as the skin underneath the blade was only turning white from the pressure of the plastic. He threw the plastic utensil away from him and leaned over the railing. "I need to find a real knife. A plastic knife just won't do," he mumbled to himself.

After staying a few minutes on the rooftop, he decided that he should get down. He looked down briefly and an idea struck him. "Maybe I don't need a knife after all…" He put one leg over the railing, then the other and prepared to jump. He closed his eyes as he felt the wind pounding against his face.

_This will work_, he thought to himself, awaiting the impact with the sidewalk below. However, instead of making contact with the cold cement floor, he landed on something rather soft and warm. He opened his eyes quizzically and observed his surroundings. When he looked up, he noticed two movers staring at the boy suspiciously.

"Um... Excuse me," he apologized and leapt off the mattress he landed on.

Shinji walked down the streets trying to contemplate why he suicide attempts weren't working. He grumbled to himself as he walked further down the street.

The first mover grinned and gave his partner a 'high five.' "Just in time."

"Yep!" exclaimed the second mover. He reached into his pocket and retrieved his walkie-talkie. "Suicide plan C interjection successful."

"Excellent. Observe the Third Child for further attempts," came a cold voice.

The second mover put away the walkie-talkie and held up a wrench. "I think we better get the water running again."

The first mover nodded. "I think Major Katsuragi might be needing her kitchen utensils to make breakfast."

* * *

"Did the plan work?" asked an old man. 

The younger man nodded his head. "It's a good thing that the Third Child is so predictable, otherwise we would've never been able to interject his suicide attempts."

The older man smiled in relief. "Do you have a present for your son?"

Gendo nodded his head. "I think that he might like this better than that SDAT player I gave him ages ago. Are you going to the party Major Katsuragi has planned, Fuyutski."

Fuyutski nodded. "It might be fun. Do you want me to give the present to him, or are you planning on arriving later?"

* * *

Shinji walked down the streets toward his school and sighed to himself. _I might as well go. I don't think I can kill myself today. It was sort of strange how all of these things happened just when I was about to kill myself._ He looked around the streets for a while before a grin appeared on his face. A car was going down the road at the moment, so he stepped off the sidewalk and into the streets. He didn't go far as a hand held him back by the collar of his shirt. 

"Baka! Watch where you're going! You could've been killed and I don't I want my ass chewed out by Misato about _your_ careless mistake!" yelled an agitated voice.

He looked up and found Asuka with a cold glare. She had only woken up fifteen minutes ago. She noticed that Shinji wasn't in the house and she didn't have time to find him _and_ eat breakfast, so she stormed out of the house in the knick of time to find Shinji stepping into the street. Shinji glared at the girl and turned his head away from her gaze.

"What? No apology?"

Shinji shot her another glare and resumed the walk to school. Whilst walking down the street, he kicked several rocks and aluminum cans scattered around.

_That's odd. The baka's glared at me and didn't apologize at all. Something's up with him_, Asuka thought to herself.

When they arrived at the school, Shinji was greeted by two voices.

"Yo, Shinji!" greeted the jock known as Touji Suzuhara.

"Hey Shinji!" greeted the war otaku Kensuke Aida.

He sighed and muttered, "Hey guys."

Noticing the change of attitude in their friend, Kensuke asked with concern, "Anything wrong?"

Shinji shook his head and glanced away from them. "Look, I just want to be alone right now. I'll talk to you guys later."

"Uh, sure man," replied Touji as they walked away from the despondent boy.

_Another birthday, which everyone conveniently forgot_, he thought to himself just as he reached the classroom. He seated himself at his desk and crossed his arms in front of him, resting his head on it.

* * *

_What's with that baka? It's as if he's more moody than usual_, she thought as she glanced in his direction. _Wait, why do I care? It isn't even my business_, she thought as she suddenly turned her head away from his direction. 

After a while, she eventually turned her gaze back at the Third Child who was fast asleep. _He looks so innocent when he's asleep_, she thought. Realizing what was running through her head, she turned away again, this time to decrease the blush that was rising onto her cheeks.

_Stupid baka_, she mentally cursed at the sleeping boy. Glancing back, her thoughts drifted back to the reason for his gloominess. _Could it be his birthday?_ she thought. For whenever it was her birthday, she would always appear to be happy and cheery to others, but when she was alone, she would cry her heart out. Even though she promised herself not to cry anymore, she just couldn't control her actions on that particular day. _Poor baka._

Finding the humanity within herself, her real inner self, she felt sympathy towards the boy.

Glancing onto her lab top, she decided to do a background check on him. The only information on the Third Child she received were the facts listed after he boarded Unit 01. Opening a window to a search engine, she typed in the key words and came upon a few _Ikari Shinji_. She sighed to herself and clicked on each link for the desired data to appear. Glancing back towards the sleeping Third Child, she smiled slightly and returned her attention back to the screen. She had no idea why she was even doing this. Could it be that she is beginning to like that baka? It would be a great change to let someone into her well-guarded heart. That thought brought a smile upon her lovely face.

* * *

Ayanami Rei looked upon the sleeping Ikari. _Why is it that Ikari-kun appears to be apathetic today? Is piloting Eva causing him to over exert himself? Or could it be another reason?_ If memory serves her correctly, today would be the day which people call his birthday. _Perhaps it will bring happiness to Ikari-kun if he receives a gift._

After deciding on the task she must accomplish after school, she reverted her attention back to the window.

* * *

Eventually, Asuka found the web page she has been searching for. On the screen was a picture of Ikari Shinji, along with a list of information about his family and history. (Where and how this data was retrieved puzzles me as well.) 

Name: Shinji Ikari

Hair: Black

Age: 16

Date of Birth: June 6, 2001

Father: Ikari Gendo, formerly Rokubungi Gendo

Mother: Ikari Yui

Siblings: None

Ikari Shinji was living a normal life as a child with both his parents. Yui and Gendo turned out both worked for NERV on Project E, but when a terrible accident occurred this happy child's life was altered completely. His mother Yui Ikari disappeared when he was four into Evangelion Unit 01 after reaching a 400 synch ratio with the robot. After her disappearance, Gendo destroyed everything belonging of wife and forsaken their child. He then dedicated all his time to NERV. Years later, Shinji Ikari was forced to board the mechanized robot the same one his mother first disappeared in. Ikari Shinji, having experienced immense pain from piloting, ran away from NERV, but returned later to protect his loved ones. Ikari Shinji is currently piloting Eva and going to school with his fellow pilots Ayanami Rei and Sohryu Asuka Langley.

_A sad childhood, but not nearly as sad as mine yet. We are the same in some way. We both lost our mothers and experienced indifference from our fathers. We are so much alike and I never knew about the pain he has suffered through to make him like this_, she thought sadly as she viewed the information displayed in front of her.

_I know one thing that might cheer him up_, she thought with a smile. (To all ecchi's out there, this thought is not going along the lines of that.)

* * *

As the bell rang, signaling the beginning of lunch, Shinji raised his head up to find that everyone in the room left. 

"Alone," he mumbled as he stood up and exited the classroom to go to the cafeteria.

Once he entered, he noticed Touji and Kensuke joking around. Smiling weakly, he waited in line and bought his lunch. Seating himself in front of his friends, he smiled weakly at them.

"You okay now?" asked Touji with his fist still connected with Kensuke's stomach.

"Yeah, kind of," he replied meekly as he began shoveling _food_ into his mouth hesitantly.

Kensuke fell down onto the floor once Touji released his next assault.

"Kensuke, are you all right?" asked a concerned Shinji after he spit out a mouthful of what they call chicken.

"Yeah." he managed to squeak out as he collapsed onto the table once he was capable of picking himself up. "Remind me next time not to eat anything that the class rep cooked for _you_ and only _you_," he whispered hoarsely.

Shinji chuckled at his friends' behavior. _What a riot_, he thought as he slowly ate his lunch.

"Uh, hey guys. Do you have any plans tonight?" he asked hopefully.

Touji stopped drinking his beverage and thought for a while. "Ah, sorry to have to bail on you man, but I promised to visit Mari tonight."

"My dad's grounded me for checking up on his NERV files again. Sorry man," Kensuke stated sadly.

"Oh, it's alright guys," he answered dejectedly.

"Why do you ask? Tonight's a school night," questioned the war otaku.

"Yeah, I wonder," agreed Touji.

"It's nothing guys. Just wanted some company tonight," Shinji stated. _On my birthday that is._

"You sure dude? You look really down," asked the jock.

Shinji forced a smile on his face and replied, "No, I'm alright. No need to worry."

Somehow, both Touji and Kensuke knew that Shinji was lying from the melancholy expression on his face.

When they returned to class, Shinji appeared to be gloomier than in the morning.

Rei, Asuka, Touji, Kensuke, and even Hikari noticed the change in attitude in the young Ikari.

_What a wonderful day_, he thought sarcastically to himself.

Glancing out the window, he released a sigh. _At least it's not raining_, he thought before rain clouds suddenly appeared with water spraying down onto the Earth below. _Spoke too soon._

Finally, the last bell rang and they were dismissed just as the rain stopped pouring.

Shinji walked home along side Asuka who seemed to have not said a word throughout the whole trip back to the apartment.

"Asuka?"

"Yeah?" came her reply.

"You uh, haven't said anything throughout our whole trip home."

"So your point is?"

Getting a little nervous, he answered quickly. "It's just that it's unusual that you're so quiet today."

"Is that so?"

"Um... yeah?"

"Well, enjoy this moment because it's not going to last long."

"What?" he asked, not understanding the meaning behind her words. At that moment, he was sudden hit in the head by a red haired girl who stuck her tongue out at him as she ran. "Catch me if you can!" she yelled from the distance.

Surprised by her demeanor, Shinji rubbed his head and followed after the taunting German girl.

After a few minutes of running, he found her sitting on a swing, slowly swaying back and forth. "What took you so long?" she inquired, never even looking in his direction.

"I uh, needed to catch my breath," he answered in between pants.

"I swear Shinji, you need to exercise more," she said with a grin.

Shinji frowned at the comment and grunted. Coming up behind her, he shoved her with a great amount of force, which surprised her since she almost fell off of the swing.

"What was THAT for?!" she exclaimed, turning towards the grinning boy.

"For the comment you've just made," he replied with a grin as he shoved her again into the air.

Gripping the chains of the swing tightly, Asuka cursed under her breath. As what seemed scary to Asuka for each time she was pushed, he pushed harder and harder, when in fact, became a pattern. He started off pretty rough, but slowed down until it was just a gentle push. They stayed in the park like that with Shinji pushing Asuka on the swing, and Asuka enjoying Shinji's company, for an hour before they decided it was time to leave.

* * *

When they arrived home, Asuka immediately went to take a shower while Shinji went to take a nap. 

Asuka looked inside Shinji's room to see what they boy was doing before leaving the apartment after her shower.

Inside Shinji's room, he laid on his bed with thoughts twirling around. _I knew it. No one remembered_, he thought as he glanced towards his calendar, which had the 6 circled around with a thick red marker. _At least this year it isn't as lonely as the others_, he thought as he drifted off into a peaceful slumber.

* * *

"Good job, Shinji," complemented Gendo as he watched his son perform a masterpiece by Beethoven on his cello. 

"Thank you Daddy!" Shinji yelled happily as he dropped his instrument and ran towards his father, inflicting a hug onto the taller man.

Gendo patted his son's head and reached behind him to make sure he didn't drop the present he was holding with his free hand. Finding the gift still in his possession, he gave a sigh of relief for if he dropped it; he would've ruined the surprise for his son.

"Hey Shinji."

The little looked up into his father's eyes as a response. "What is it Daddy?" he questioned innocently.

"Call your mother over for me. I have something here that I want your mother to see."

The little boy nodded and ran off towards his mother. "Mommy! Mommy! Daddy wants you to go with me because he has something he wants to let you see."

"All right Shinji," giggled Yui as she chased after her child.

When she arrived, she kneeled down beside the kneeling Gendo as he handed a box over to the boy.

"What is it?" asked Shinji eagerly.

"Just open it and you'll see," Gendo replied with a smile.

Hearing the reply, Shinji tore through the wrapping paper until he reached the gift itself. Lifting it out of the box, Shinji jumped up and down with glee.

"I thought that you would've gotten him something else since you disapproved the idea of getting Shinji a cassette player," Yui said to her husband.

He turned to look at her and shook his head. "Actually, I changed my mind considering how happy Shinji is."

Yui smiled at her husband and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

* * *

The dream sequence ended abruptly as Shinji awoke. Glancing at his watch, he picked himself off the bed and exited the room. Entering the kitchen, he prepared to cook dinner when Misato came into the scene and literally shoved the boy out. 

"Hey! What's the big deal, Misato?" asked an irked Shinji.

"You don't have to cook dinner tonight, Shinji," Misato started out.

Hearing what she said, Shinji's eyes widened in horror. "Don't tell me you're going to cook."

Considering what Shinji stated an insult, Misato narrowed her eyes at him. "I do NOT cook THAT bad!"

From the looks on everyone in the room, (Shinji, Asuka, and Pen Pen) she would be proven wrong. "Okay! Okay! So I'm not very good at cooking."

"You're telling me," Shinji said under his breath.

Glaring at her young charge, Misato commanded, "Shinji, go to your room and don't come out until I tell you to."

"But I was just in there," protested/whined Shinji.

"Well, go there anyway. I have to do something right now and I don't really want you to see."

"What is it that you're doing Misato?" Shinji asked curiously.

"Uh... it's uh... uh... it's a secret!"

"A secret?" he echoed.

"Yep! Now go to your room!" With that, Misato shoved her young charge out of the kitchen and into his bedroom. "Now stay in there until I tell you it's alright to come out!"

"Yeah, yeah," Shinji answered quietly in an annoyed tone.

Looking around his room, he found nothing that he could use to pass time, so he decided to work on his homework. Reaching into his book bag, he pulled out the sheets of paper and started to scribble the right answers on it.

After finishing his homework, he was once again bored. This time he decided to check out what classes he should pick for his next year in school.

"Hmmmm... Geometry, Japanese, History...Biology, Band?" Band was a good choice considering the fact that Shinji was exquisite on his cello, which would make a fine addition to the school orchestra.

* * *

Finally, he heard a knock on the door. Reaching the door, he noticed that Asuka was the one to lead him out and not Misato. 

"Asuka, what's going on?" he asked, hoping to find an answer from the red head.

"You'll see," was her only reply as she entered a darkened living room.

"What's going on?" he repeated, this time in bewilderment.

"1... 2... 3... SURPRISE! HAPPY BIRTHDAY SHINJI!" came a chorus of voices as the lights flickered on.

"Wha... wha?" he stuttered out.

Running up to hug the boy, Misato whispered, "Happy Sweet Sixteen, Shinji." She then handed him her present.

"Hey man!" Touji said as he gave the surprised boy a noogie and a pat on the back before handing him his gift.

"Hey Shinji!" Kensuke said in a teasing tone. Holding up a couple of DVDs with sneaky fingers, he put them in Shinji's hands. "Watch them when you're alone," he whispered as he stepped away.

Immediately Shinji's face grew crimson. "T-thank you, Kensuke." He had a very good idea what was in the DVDs and was in no hurry to watch it.

Hikari was next in line as she handed Shinji a thin object. "Thank you class rep."

Followed by Hikari was Rei as she stepped up to Shinji, she placed a gentle kiss on his cheek as she handed him her present. As she walked away, Shinji could only stare at her stunned while everyone in the room was clapping and making catcalls. All except the one known as Asuka Langley Sohryu as she looked on with jealousy as Rei casually strolled away.

"Yo Shinji! Shouldn't you open your presents?" asked a curious Touji as he poked each present, stopping upon Kensuke's gift with a smug smile.

"Uh, yeah. I'll do that right now." Shinji picked up Misato's gift to him and gently removed the wrapping paper, revealing a picture frame with a photo inserted.

"A picture frame?" asked Touji at the weird gift.

"Not just ANY picture frame! It's a picture frame with a photo of his new family!" Misato stated with a smile as she noticed Shinji smile with an intent gaze on the picture.

"Check out what Touji got you!" Kensuke said as he grabbed the box and put it in front of the birthday boy.

Shinji looked on curiously at the sloppy wrapping and shrugged. Opening the present, revealed a green exercise outfit close to that of what Touji normally wore.

"Now you can exercise with me in the morning before school. Even though you're and Eva pilot, sitting in the chair doesn't mean you get a good workout," Touji announced with a smirk as Shinji began to turn red from embarrassment.

Moving onto the next present, Shinji paused before opening it, having a good guess of what was inside. Removing the wrapping, he held up the cookbook Hikari had bought him.

"A cook book? Isn't that kind of lame?" asked Touji as he flipped through a few pages.

Receiving an elbow in the stomach shut the jock up. "I heard from Asuka that you like to cook so I thought you might like a cook book."

"Asuka told you that?" he asked in surprise. He scanned the room for the redhead, but didn't find her. He turned his attention back to the class rep. "Thank you, class rep," he thanked with a smile of appreciation.

"Call me Hikari," she said with a smile.

Shinji nodded.

"Open Rei's present," Misato said with a wink.

Blushing, Shinji complied with the request. Removing the object from the bag, which incased it, he held up the apron which had his name engraved in. "Thank you Rei! This will be very handy when I cook!"

Rei blushed at the comment and merely nodded.

Meanwhile, Asuka stood in the shadows with a glare cast upon the First Child. She clenched her fists and was practically shaking with anger. The reason for her doing so was unknown to her.

Fuyutski stepped up to the boy and placed a small wad of cash in his hand. "Don't spend it all at once, you hear."

Shinji nodded with a smile. "Don't worry, I won't be that stupid."

Fuyutski laughed at the comment and patted the boy on the back.

Following after the Vice Commander were the three technicians. Shigeru handed Shinji a CD of (Insert famous artist here)'s newest album underneath a layer of wrapping paper. "I heard that you like (Insert famous artist here)'s music."

Shinji smiled and said appreciatively, "Thank you so much."

"No problem kid."

Makoto handed Shinji his gift. "Here buddy. I have a feeling you're going to need this."

"A $1000 gift card at (Insert name of a good Japanese clothing store)?" Shinji read aloud. He raised an eyebrow and looked at the man with glasses.

"You've been that school uniform for quite a while. I figured you might want a new wardrobe," he answered with a smile.

"Wow, thanks Hyuga-san."

Makoto chuckled and shook his hand. "Enjoy your present."

"I will."

Maya pushed Makoto out of the way and placed a necklace around Shinji's neck.

He picked it up and read the words on the cross shaped object hanging from the cross. "Shinji."

"It looks nice on you," she said with a smile. "Happy Birthday."

Shinji smiled and thanked the woman. "Thank you!"

Followed by Maya was Ritsuko. She handed Shinji a rather big and heavy box.

"Um… thanks Dr. Akagi," Shinji stuttered out as he felt the heavy box handed to him.

"It's a first aid kit since it seems you're always getting hurt. I doubt that you have one in the house with Misato living here."

Misato glared at her friend. "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!"

Ritsuko ignored the Major and walked away from the boy.

Kaji put an arm around the young pilot and said, "Sorry, I forgot to get a present. Tell you what, I'm treating you to dinner Friday and I'll give you all the secrets to get as many girls as you want."

Shinji blushed at the comment and thanked the man.

As everyone was checking out the presents Shinji received, the doorbell rang at that exact moment.

"I'll get it," Asuka said, for this was an excuse to leave the scene. Swinging open the door, she was dumbfounded to find the Commander of NERV standing on the other side. "Commander…"

"Pilot Sohryu."

Realizing that she was just staring at him from shock, she quickly opened the door to allow Gendo to pass through. As he entered the living room, everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and looked on in shock at the scene in front of them.

"Commander!" All the NERV members saluted.

Stepping pass everyone until he reached Shinji, he looked down at the boy who seemed to turn away from his gaze. "Shinji," he said in a low voice.

Looking up at his father, he could see him look upon him with a slight smile. _Now THIS is weird_, Shinji thought to himself as his father bent down to his eye level since he was currently sitting. Reaching into his pocket, he produced a box. Handing it over to the bewildered boy, he whispered something barely audible. "Happy Sweet Sixteen, son." With that said, he stood up and left the apartment full of freaked out people, minus Rei.

"Well, open it," Asuka demanded as she stepped out of the shadows.

Complying with the command, Shinji ripped off the wrapping to reveal an mp3 player with all of his favorite classical music already downloaded into the machine.

"Wow, I didn't think the Commander would've done what he's just done," commented Misato as she leaned forward to get a better view of the little mp3 player.

Smiling to himself, Shinji suppressed the urge to cry from joy.

"Hey Asuka, what did you get for Shinji?" Hikari asked as she approached her friend.

"Huh? Me? I uh... I... " she stuttered as she tried to think up of words to describe her excuse of not getting a gift for her male roommate.

"You didn't get one did you?"

Asuka shook her head. "I got something earlier. It's really lame though."

"It's alright Asuka. I'm sure Shinji will love what you're going to give to him," Hikari reassured her friend.

Shinji smiled at all the presents he received and shouted, "Let's eat!"

Everyone cheered as Misato brought out a whole supply of take out and a cake. Lighting the candles, Misato told Shinji to make a wish.

Deciding on his wish, Shinji blew out all the candles and everyone applauded. Cutting the cake and serving them to each of his guests, they began their dinner celebration.

* * *

After a while, everyone left, considering it was a school day. Meanwhile, Shinji sat in his room contemplating the event of tonight. Looking at the green exercise outfit Touji bought for him, Shinji chuckled remembering what he had said about sitting in a chair and getting in shape. 

Carefully placing each gift in a safe place, Shinji lay back onto his bed and listened to his new mp3 player.

Suddenly a knock was heard. "Come in," he said for he did not feel like opening to door.

Once the door slid open, he was surprised to find Asuka enter his room, sliding the door shut behind her.

"What is it Asuka?" he inquired curious for her sudden entrance.

"You don't mind if I come in right?" she asked, clutching a small item behind her back.

Shinji shook his head as she made her way over to his bedside. Sitting up, he waited for her explanation.

"I didn't have the chance to give you your present after the … the Commander made his entrance." She reached behind her and showed the small present to the boy. "So, here it is."

Shinji took the object from her and unwrapped it. He was surprised at the object beneath the layer of wrapping paper. He held it up and grinned. "An Eva 01 plushy. Thanks Asuka!" He jumped up and gave her a hug.

She was taken aback by the action, but returned the hug. When he broke the embrace, Shinji began to play with the plushy.

"One more thing before I leave," Asuka said with a smirk.

He looked up at her and asked, "What's that?"

He grabbed him by the shirt and pulled his face close to her. She kissed him on the lips briefly and pulled away. When she did, she had a slight blush on her face. "Good Night Baka!" she yelled over her shoulder as she walked out of the room.

He gently touched his lips and smiled to himself. Reverting back to lying on his bed, he whispered to himself. "This wasn't such a lonely birthday after all. In fact, it was the perfect birthday."

Slowly, he drifted off to a peaceful and dreamless slumber. All the angels would have to wait for another day, for none would be crazy enough to attack on such a day.

THE END

* * *

So how was it? I hoped this fic lived up to your expectations for I enjoyed writing it. Please review so you can encourage writers like myself to write more. D 

Thanks for reading!


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